Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume4 Chapter2

Note: Pending TLC, I'm not sure how much you'll be misreading

Chapter 2: Sky Voyage

Part 1

The flying boat filled with ether continued to glide over the clouds.

The destination was a sanctuary in Astral Zero – the Floating Island «Ragna Ys».

It was the venue for the Blade Dance.

Originally, only the princess maidens from the «Divine Ritual Institute» were permitted to enter the sanctuary to attend to the Elemental Lord.

However, it was now open to the general public specifically for the Blade Dance only.

"Oh, this flying boat is so amazing!"

Overlooking the sea of clouds that extended through the window, Kamito was feeling dizzy.

Anyway, it was his first time riding a flying boat.

But as expected from the ladies of nobility, they got accustomed to it as soon as they unloaded their luggage.

He was relaxing on the sofa in the private room that they were each allotted.

The carpet had very beautiful embroidery in red, with the walls of the room made from polished marble.

All of the furniture on board was of the highest standard.

"Nevertheless, there is not even the smallest tremor."

"This is indeed the latest flying ship. If all goes as planned, we will be arriving at about noon."

That being said, Claire laid herself down on the sofa. But no matter what, her posture was....

One could easily see her pink panties. Kamito hurriedly averted his face.

"Come to think of it, I have heard that tonight will be the opening ceremony at the castle. Have you brought your dress for the Formal Ball?"

"No, I did not bring it. I hate dance parties."

Recalling the Blade Dance three years ago, Kamito groaned bitterly.

Honestly, the ball was nothing but trivial.

"Is that so...."

For some reason, Claire muttered regretfully.

"....? Don't be embarrassed if you need help over your dress, okay?"

"No no, there's nothing required!"

Claire blushed and turned the other way.

"Are you angry......?"

"I-I am not angry...stupid!"

"....Really, both of you, fighting on a ship?"

Rinslet was amazed at this and shrugged her shoulders.

"Rinslet, what are you doing here―?"

Rinslet had arranged a tea set on the table in preparation.

"I'll brew some black tea, so, shall we have some?"

"I have heard that the flavor of tea leaves from the Laurenfrost province is really good."

"Uh huh! It is essential to relax a bit before the Blade Dance."

Fianna and Ellis too, who were gazing at the scene outside came forward to join the table.

It seemed to be an elegant young lady's style to enjoy tea during the evening.

As Rinslet gracefully poured tea into the cups with her hands, the steam rising immediately filled the room with a pleasant citrus aroma.

"Oh thank you! This has got a really nice flavor."

Claire sincerely gave her words of praise.

"This orange tea is a specialty of the Laurenfrost province."

"Heh-heh, the tea brewed by my lady is indeed delicious."

Her maid Carol giggled and smiled.

"Isn't this usually a maid's job to do?"

Kamito enquired―

"Well, then my adorable Carol would have burns all over."

"Ah, I am sorry..."

For some reason, Rinslet was stark angry.

Incidentally, only those people who had an invitation were allowed in the sanctuary; however, Carol being the property of the Laurenfrost House— was given a special permit as an accomplice to Rinslet.

Although, Rinslet seemed to be still dissatisfied with the treatment, particularly towards Carol.

"How much sugar, Kamito-san?

"Ah, I request for one."

"Claire's two?"

"You! How do you know about my taste?"

"Eh, nothing; I merely remembered it by chance."

Rinslet blushed and shouted angrily.

"Well, that's because my lady and Miss Claire have been playing together since the early days—"

"Ah, is that so?"

Carol smiled when asked by Kamito.

"Yes, my lady and Miss Claire have become very emotionally attached—"

"Hey, you, when did that happen!?"

"Yes, that's right. I assure you that Claire and I are rivals!"

Rinslet suddenly faced the other way.

"I wonder if I can get it."

"As expected of your Royal Highness, you truly understand the way to enjoy black tea."

Rinslet nodded with satisfaction.

And, this time Ellis really coughed—

"I-I would like milk tea with plenty of sugar."

She said this in an embarrassed voice.

"Hai Hai, Milk tea it is."

"So, if that's the case......"

"Yes?"

"If possible, with cream and honey. Moreover I also wish for a dried marshmallow on it."

"Hey! What is that!"

Rinslet's cheek twitched.

"Such a drink in excess, such blasphemy towards tea!"

"I-I always have it that way! In order to endure harsh sword training, it is necessary to take a lot of sugar."

"Hah... because of that, the Military Family of Fahrengart is..."

“Miss Captain is also surprisingly childish. She doesn’t understand the subtle flavor of this tea.”

“Well, you are annoying! I have always preferred such sweetness in the taste!"

Ellis retorted teary-eyed to Claire’s pitying face,

While watching them —

Be it this or that, to open one’s heart, these two people……

Kamito smiled wryly in his mind.

Because of the long time conflict with the Sylphid Knights, Claire and Captain Ellis had been on bad terms. Ellis was on the team, so after a mere two weeks since her arrival, they would quarrel during each day's entire training session.

In order to utilize the battle skills of the similarly neighboring [sentence requires further translation] Ellis, Kamito decided to unite them as a duo, thereupon raising complaints from Claire for some reason or another —— And thus many evenings were spent in this manner.

After all, Claire and Ellis were two people of very different personalities.

Both of them were honor students. However, Ellis was more of a sincere, hard working sort of person, while Claire was more of a fiery-tempered genius. At the very least, both were strong willed.

And thus, the first week went by in a very dangerous mood; however—

"Unbelievable! Really, putting in honey…"

“Wow, I like this.”

"Well, why it is so sweet and delicious....Eh?"

With the cup touching her lips Ellis looked at Claire with her faintly shut eyes.

"How is it?"

"......It's not that bad. It has little bit of a mild flavor to it."

"Doesn't it?"

"But, this impairs the gentle flavor of this black tea. It is at best a children's drink."

"Hmm, it just might really be so......"

Nowadays, Claire's method of retorting with frivolous talk always nearly came to blows.

"—Nevertheless, your hellcat spirit is just so adorable."

And so Ellis reached out to Scarlet who was crouched on the sofa with her hands.

But then she suddenly started playing with its tail and paws with her fingertips.

"Wait a minute, Scarlet is my contracted spirit. Do not touch her in such a carefree manner."

"Hey, isn't even a little okay......?"

Picking up and hugging Scarlet closely, Ellis' lips sharpened.

For a too serious Captain-sama, this was both a surprising and an adorably frail side.

"......So to say, you even have things such as stuffed toys in your room, isn't it?"

“Nyanya!”

As if calling for Claire’s assistance, Scarlet gave out a bothersome cry.

“I think it seems that your contracted spirit wants to separate from you.”

“Let’s say, Simorgh's face is pretty lovely too……”

Ellis peevishly started muttering after listening to this.

When listening to this, it seemed like it was a chant for making a contract with a spirit.

“Ellis!”

“Stop right there, I will not let this continue even a minute longer.”

Ellis seemed to be hugging Scarlet even more closely—

“Nya!”

Scarlet managed to extract herself from Ellis’ arms, and left the room.

Claire finally sighed and her mood improved.

“That’s why I have to say this: Scarlet would not become emotionally attached to any human other than me.”

“If you are thinking that way too, isn’t it always you who asks me for my Fenrir to be your pillow?

Rinslet glared at Claire with scornful eyes.

“…..But then what shall I do; I feel comfortable when it is chilly.”

Sitting on the sofa, Claire put her head on the back of the white wolf. For a high ranking demon ice spirit «Fenrir», it showed an expression of great annoyance.

……I can understand, that feeling

Frustratingly serving as a slave spirit under Claire, Kamito gave sympathy reflexively.

“Uffu fu, Kamito-kun, do you want to call for my ‘breasts only’ pillow?”

“Stop being ridiculous, Your Highness”

And Kamito poked Fianna’s forehead.

“…..Aammo, this does not mean that you have already won.”

She added this while placing her index finger to her lips in a seemingly dissatisfied manner.

“Hum, do not go searching for Scarlet afterwards. This ship is just too vast and spacious to search in.”

And with Claire sighing flauntingly, Ellis got diverted to the affairs of the day after tomorrow.

“So to say, the fact is that there are other countries’ representatives also onboard, right?”

“Yes, besides us, just how many other teams were picked up?”

Claire nodded at the question asked by Kamito.

Kamito placed his cup of black tea on the table.

“—Even the Strongest Blade Dancer?”

“—……Huh?”

Just then, the tension in the room rose up.

Kamito’s voice had an unusual force behind it.

“No, that girl isn’t on board this flying ship.”

And Claire quietly denied it by shaking her head.

“This time, that girl will be appearing as the representative from the Alphas Theocracy. If so, she will be on one of the other flying vessels.”

“Is that so……”

“Anyways, this just doesn’t make sense, right?”

“Yes, to be a representative from the Alphas Theocracy while utilizing spirit magic at such a level, ain’t it?”

Rinslet tilted her head in thought, and Claire nodded in assent to her.

Alphas Theocracy — from East to West respectively, a small country sandwiched between the two major principalities, Ordesia Empire and Dracunia — the Dragon Empire. Their main resource was the spirit crystal which was excavated from mines. But, in order to bring such an enormous fortune for a small country like that, the people would have had to barter for advanced excavation equipment sourced from ancient ruins similar to the ones that held the «Gates».

Though it was unconfirmed, many people alleged the country to be the headquarters for the organization of the Dark Traders MurdersCorpse Federation.

But for this country to be able to ward off any confrontation from the two super powers on its land, there must have been extremely skillful diplomacy on the part of the The First Hierarch.

“In the first place, the representatives from that country last participated in the Blade Dance 50 years ago. But for what reason could they be participating in this tournament, even I would like to know that.”

Ren Ashbell, for now the famous elementalist herself was a source of aspiration for these young ladies and she was what they aimed for.

For such a girl, her being the representative of such a small country had lead to nothing but very bad rumors, and Claire and the others were all helpless to withstand it.

“Speaking of Alphas Theocracy, there is a rumor about them rapidly buying and collecting spirits for military services.”

Ellis started muttering over such a matter while folding her arms.

“Why now? Why is it necessary for them to assemble spirits for military services?”

That wasn’t just all to it.

The Alphas Theocracy, in addition to this, was also seen as a source of potential threat.

As a certainty, it is also believed to be the birth place of the Demon King — isn’t that so?

It was believed that the Demon King had roots all over the continent at quite a number of places.

And Alphas Theocracy was known as its Headquarters.

At any rate, the capital of the Empire was the native city of Demon King Solomon.

It was believed by the followers of the Demon King, that one day a 2nd advent would come again in the empire.

Demon King — Kamito felt an odd sensation in his chest as he started to recollect.

It is certain that at that school, I was brought up as a Demon King, and even my colleagues believed it to be so......

For this reason, they then blessed Kamito who was considered an elementalist blessed by that man, with an existence which was a high ranking spirit that had been contracted with by the Demon King himself.

“At any rate, this news is still unclear about how it relates to Ren Ashbell, right.”

Claire shrugged her shoulders.

“Suddenly appearing 3 years ago, a nameless elementalist. After these years, of the same age of 16 years old as I, wielding a darkness spirit. How did she reach that level is truly impossible to comprehend.”

For the sake of winning through the Blade Dance, not only the ability and power to use spirit magic, but gathering intelligence was also essential.

Though the academy was able to provide essential details of the elementalists and their spirit attributes from the other participating teams, regarding the one called Ren Ashbell, there was nothing but simply what was collected from flying gossip.

Not just about her, but even about her team members there was no information.

So not only the identity, but also their objective is obscure, or—

But if it were just a case of deceiving everyone by imitating the legendary elementalist.

However, such a thing was not impossible.

Greyworth, that person is the only one whom I was not able to defeat—

For the sake of defeating her in Blade Dance, Kamito had been summoned to the academy.

That’s—

And, Kamito dropped his gaze to his leather gloved left hand.

Restia, there is no doubt that the one participating will have an imitation of her.

Just several weeks ago, at that time during the battle under the abandoned mine with Jio Inzagi—— from the «Instructional School» .

——Because it was her wish.

Those were really the words uttered by Restia.

And then, he would be reunited with that girl.

Damn it! How was that girl able to change the darkness spirit.

If she had changed, if that other Ren Ashbell overcame the barrier, if it were to happen—

Impossible, I absolutely won’t allow it.

Under the table, Kamito’s fist started to quiver slightly.

“At any rate, after a few more hours, we will be standing at the same stage as her.”

And so Ellis muttered with strong emotions.

“3 years ago, despite just watching her debut match from the guest seating.”

“I had come to see Velsaria’s match. And she was so amazingly beautiful.”

“Ren Ashbell’s blade dance was truly magnificent, right.”

Seeing Ellis blushing rapidly, Claire and Rinslet started mocking her by making sounds.

Kamito was feeling extremely loathsome and averted his eyes.

“Well, there is no need to care about that so much. After all, her being the strongest was three years ago and rumours are always exaggerated. It seems I am just unlucky to be a slave."

Kamito shrugged his shoulders while saying—

“Oye, how dare you say that!”

“You, are you stupid or what?”

“Heh, so you are stupid to even that extent.”

“Aa, sorry, my bad......”

Being glared at by the three young ladies, Kamito apologized in haste.

......Impossible, in any case, how can you say such words when that person himself is in front of you.

There was no point in hearing this any longer. Kamito stood up quickly as if to recover.

“Oye, where are you going?”

“Ah, in search of Scarlet.”

Finding such an excuse, Kamito made a quick exit from the room.

“Aaa, for him to run away......”

“Fu fu, Kamito-kun in his pitiful state is too cute.”

Knowing Kamito’s true identity, Fianna could not help but giggle nonstop.

Part 2

Directly below one of the flying ships escorting the representatives for the Blade Dance, a petite figure geared in battle form appeared.

As if lurking around to ambush game among the woods, she was lying in wait silently.

Opening a metal hatch, a small sized girl appeared to make an exit.

Her hair was tied together in two pony-tails from both ends and was fluttering against the strong wind.

“—Found you, Nii-sama.”

An expression of a delicate smile appeared on that young girl’s face as she called for her spirit.

At that moment, the ring on her index finger glowed in bright red.

And thus—

“Come, rampage to your heart’s content. Annihilation spirit «Death Gaze».

A small crack suddenly appeared in the clear sky, and a black monster appeared from it.